Hello and welcome to tonight’s Live Blog where we will bring you all the news from the prestigious Plymouth Herald Sports Personality of the Year awards for 2017.

This is without doubt the jewel in our sporting crown and we have a host of sports men and women from all walks of life joining us at the Pavilions for tonight's ceremony, which is being hosted by former British Olympic swimmer and Plymouth golden girl Sharron Davies.

In total, we have 11 awards up for grabs as we recognise not just the sporting achievements of Plymouth’s elite athletes, but the hard work and dedication from people all over the city to ensure the people of this city can enjoy playing sport.

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Herald Sports Personality of the Year 2017

Farewell...

One final post from me....

22:44

Stay tuned

Stay logged on to the Herald tonight and tomorrow for all the fall out from tonight’s spectacular awards ceremony, there will be loads of pictures to come tomorrow both online and in print. It’s been emotional, it’s been fun, but if we have learnt anything tonight, it is that sport is well and truly alive in Plymouth’s Ocean City.

22:42

And that's it...

Wow, what a night... thank you all for joining us online, I hope we have kept you entertained. A HUGE congratulations to all of our winners and to all of those nominated as well.

22:38

22:35

AND THE WINNER IS...

HEATHER KNIGHT

As a nation England don’t do things easily and that was certainly the case at Lords when the side played India in the women’s cricket World Cup final.

India looked set for victory when they were at 191-3 chasing 229 but England pulled something incredible out of the bag.

The side took seven wickets for 28 runs and they were eventually bowled out for 219 with eight balls unused.

Heather Knight was captain of the side that produced the stunning comeback, with the whole nation tweeting their congratulations and pride just moments after the result was secure.

It ended an eight year wait for a global trophy and the triumph has been described as a springboard for women’s cricket.

Heather was named as the captain of International Cricket Council’s Women ODI team of the year, such was the importance of her leadership in the World Cup.

From September 2016 Heather has compiled 725 runs at an average of 42.64 and has taken 14 scalps, proving that she leads by example.

And to top of a sensational year, at the end of December Knight was awarded an OBE on the New Year’s honour list after her success at the World Cup.

Well done Heather! Plymouth is so proud of you!

England captain Heather Knight won Plymouth Herald's Sports Personality of the Year 2017 at the event at Plymouth Pavilions on Monday night (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

22:32

SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

The nominees are...

- Ben Proud

- Graham Carey

- Heather Knight

- Henry Slade

- Jacob Dawson

- Tom Daley

22:30

And now for the big one...

We are all set to find out who is the Plymouth Herald Sports Personality of the Year for 2017....

22:28

AND THE WINNER IS...

ANDY BANKS

Plymouth Diving has been one of the biggest sporting success stories of the city over the last 25 years and a lot of that is down to the hard work of Andy Banks.

The likes of Brooke Graddon, Tonia Couch, Sarah Barrow and Tom Daley have all achieved incredible things in sport because of the coaching and support that Andy gave them.

In the many interviews with the divers over the years, it became clear that Andy was much more than a coach. He became a father figure and a friend.

Sarah’s latter diving years were plagued by injury and it was Andy that got her through some of the lowest times.

Sarah was ready to quit at one stage, but Andy encouraged her to carry on, which led to her qualifying for the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Sarah retired after the Olympic Games and Tonia announced her retirement in November 2017, with Andy leaving Plymouth to take up the role of Australian national coach.

Tonia stated that Andy leaving played a big part in her decision and described him as her second dad.

Diving has helped put Plymouth on the sporting world stage and much of that is down to the hard work and dedication of Andy.

22:22

STUART MUNDAY OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION

The nominees are...

- Andy Banks

- Graham Kingdon

- Ryan Atkin

22:20

And the winner is...

Henry Slade for his kick which got Exeter Chiefs into the Premiership final

Exeter Chiefs made history when they beat Wasps 23-20 to lift the Premiership title for the first ever time.

That achievement was all the more impressive given that it came just seven years after the side won promotion from the Championship.

But that would never been possible if it wasn’t for Plymothian Henry Slade’s last minute kick against Saracens. Having been awarded a penalty deep inside their own half, Slade’s booming but perfectly judged 75-yard kick to touch earned Exeter a line-out on the Saracens five-metre line from which their driving maul forced Sam Simmonds over and turned a 13-16 deficit into an incredible 18-13 win and sent the team to Twickenham.

The kick was described as “one of the great kicks of all time” by beaten Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall.

What made the kick more impressive was that the swirling, windy conditions had seen England star Owen Farrell and the Chiefs’ Gareth Steenson both miss kicks earlier in the game.

22:18

CHAMPAGNE MOMENT OF THE YEAR

The nominees are...

- Henry Slade for his kick that took Exeter Chiefs to the Premiership final

- Heather Knight for winning the Cricket World Cup

- Plymouth Argyle for their 0-0 draw against Liverpool at Anfield

- Plymouth Argyle for their 6-1 victory over Newport to secure promotion to League One

22:15

THE ROB DALEY AWARD

MARK ORMROD

Mark is an inspiration to us all.

Having lost both his legs and right arm after stepping on and triggering an IED, medics stopped working on him thinking he was dead.

Yet miraculously, Mark survived and he has not let his injuries get the better of him.

Ten years on from that awful event, Mark was presented with an incredible four medals at the Invictus Games.

Mark competed in indoor rowing for which he won two silver medals, and swimming which earned him two bronze medals and he was singled out for special praise at the closing ceremony, where he was presented with a special medal for his exceptional performance.

22:09

AND THE WINNER IS...

MATTHEW DIXON

Matthew Dixon is one of the hottest young diving prospects in the country, with plenty of comparisons having been made between him and Tom Daley.

At the start of 2017 Matthew set himself a target to win a medal at every competition and that is what he went on to do.

Matthew is ranked as the third best junior in the world after winning bronze on the individual 10 metre platform at the World Championships in Kazan.

A gold was added to the collection as Matthew won the 10m at the Junior European Championship in Bergen, Norway.

And he also claimed a silver in the 10m synchro at the Championships before he was selected to join the senior circuit for both individual and synchro competitions.

A bronze and gold were added at the Senior Canada Cup Grand Prix before winning silver in both at the British Championships in Edinburgh.

The year was topped off when he was selected to compete at the Senior European Championships in Kiev, Ukraine, where he made the final and came sixth in the individual event and he claimed bronze in the synchro.

22:08

YOUNG SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

The nominees are...

- Aidan Heslop

- Ben Andrews

- Gemma Kerr

- Georgina Mitchell

- Matthew Dixon

- Milly Jinks

- Xander Harris

22:05

AND THE WINNER IS...

MARC WHALEY

Footballers are well known for their high wages but the game couldn’t be played without the men in the middle, who share a pitch with the players.

Marc has refereed at National League South level and has been a fourth official within Leagues One and League Two.

The Professional Development League and Women’s Super League have also benefitted from Marc’s officiating.

Marc’s nomination stated that he had a passion for officiating and for certain games, he can leave Plymouth at 7am and not return until just before midnight.

It isn’t only football where Marc can be seen keeping a close eye on proceedings. He also umpires for the Plymouth and District Netball League and this year added the Regional League to his CV.

When Marc isn’t refereeing, he spends time informing and educating students as he runs a number of football events where he trains the leaders to be confident about officiating primary school competitions.

22:04

SPORTS OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR

And the nominees are...

- Dennis White

- Marc Whaley

21:59

AND THE WINNER IS...

HELEN REDDY

Helen Reddy was described as Superwoman in one of her nominations and is a leading force behind some of the great sporting successes of Ivybridge Community College.

Helen dedicates much of her time to running clubs, whether that be in lunchtimes or after school and it is the students that benefit immensely from that.

It is estimated that over 50 hours a week is given to teaching and coaching although plenty of her time is also spent on getting students to national competitions.

Helen’s programmes have been labelled as fun and engaging and it is that format that has enabled hundreds of young people to take their first steps into a more physically active lifestyle.

When Helen first joined the college in 2001 there were just 20 gymnasts in a competitive squad but now there are more than 300 students taking part in structured sessions.

The year has been a particularly good one for Helen as she was recognised by Active Devon at the end of June when she was awarded Devon’s Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award and she was also the winner of the Devon Coach of the Year 2017.

Helen was also short-listed for the BBC Unsung Sport Hero Award.

21:58

SPORTS TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Slight delay as we had the raffle winners... But your nominees are....

- Helen Reddy

- Katy Geraghty

21:52

many thanks Mark...

Hardly a dry eye in the house...

21:48

AND THE WINNER IS...

ILP Boccia Club

Sport isn’t just about winning medals and competing at the highest level. For some, it offers an improvement of life.

Sport can be used in such a positive way and that is certainly the case for Improving Lives Plymouth Boccia Club.

Many people won’t know much about boccia and there is a severe lack of local competitions for those that play it to enter.

But this club have taken it upon themselves to organise tournaments for teams around the region, offering competitive fun that is enjoyable and social for those that compete.

The club caters for a wide range of ages, abilities and disabilities and helps to improve health and wellbeing.

In the last year the club have seen 117 different people take part in weekly sessions with 20-30 regular players attending.

Over 14 teams took part in the last tournament they held, with Boccia England commenting that is was the biggest of its kind in the country.

21:47

COMMUNITY SPORTS CLUB OF THE YEAR

And the nominees are...

- ILP Boccia Club

- Pilgrim Flyers

- Yogi Cycling

21:43

AND THE WINNER IS...

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

Since entering administration Plymouth Argyle have struggled to taste any success on the pitch, with relegations leaving the side in danger of exiting league football.

But the 2016/17 season was the one where things changed for the Pilgrims as they bounced back from play-off final heartbreak in May 2016 to win promotion to League One.

In 2017 the team built on a good start to the season, with nobody wanting the side to have to chance their luck in the play-offs for a third successive season.

Argyle looked comfortable in the automatic promotion spots and finally secured promotion with a 6-1 thrashing of Newport County in April.

Life in League One didn’t start too well for Derek Adams’ men as they recorded just one win in their opening 17 games in all competitions at the start of the season.

But the team showed character and turned their form around towards the end of 2017, rising from bottom of the table on December 8 to 16 on January 2, with four victories and two draws from six matches.

Promotion and just short of mid-table in League One makes 2017 a very successful year for Argyle and when you add in a draw at Anfield, home of Premier League giants Liverpool, in the FA Cup their place in this category is very much deserved.

21:43

TEAM OF THE YEAR

And the nominees are...

- Devon County Swim Team

- Ivybridge College Gymnastics Academy

- Plymouth Albion Ladies

- Plymouth Argyle

- Plymouth Pilgrims

21:38

AND THE WINNER IS...

JACOB DAWSON

There has been very little rest for Jacob Dawson in 2017 as he continues to impress on the world rowing stage.

In what proved to be an incredible year he was selected to represent Great Britain as part of their senior rowing team and tasted plenty of success in many different competitions.

Jacob took part in three World Cup events in Serbia, Poland and Switzerland, winning gold in one and bronze in another.

He then competed in the European Championships in the Czech Republic and the World Championships in the USA.

But there were more medals to come as Jacob won gold in the men’s pair in Serbia and bronze in the men’s eight in Poland.

Travelling the world has become a big part of Jacob’s life, but when he is back home in Plymouth, he makes time to visit his local club, Plymouth Amateur Rowing Club.

21:37

THE BILL RICHARDS AMATEUR SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

An award in honour of our late former colleague Bill Richards. We have just watched a really brilliant and moving video in tribute to King Billy. May he rest in peace... The nominees are:

- Dan Ellis

- David King

- Hannah Baldwin

- Jacob Dawson

- Trish Deykin

21:29

And the winner is...

PETE BARRETT

Pete Barrett is the head fencing coach at Plymouth Fencing, the most successful epee fencing clubs in the South West of England.

His tireless work in local schools brings fencing to a wide variety of people and ensures that the PFC club membership remains healthy by inspiring children to take up the sport.

Pete’s technical and tactical knowledge is second to none and has lead him to develop a wealth of talented young fencers from Plymouth who now compete on the international stage.

Ben Andrews, who has been coached by Pete since he first picked up an epee, has won two bronze medals as part of the Great Britain team. This success was in addition to the achievements of several other Plymouth born and based fencers competing and excelling around the world.

This, along with younger fencers who regularly win medals in the Leon Paul Junior Series, is a testament to the time, skill and dedication he invests in fencers.

Further to his involvement with fencers at Plymouth College and Plymouth Fencing Club, Pete is also a vital member of the Modern Pentathlon coaching team at Plymouth College, helping modern pentathletes develop their fencing skills and tactics from their introduction to multi-sport and fencing right through to athletes vying for Youth Olympic Games qualification.

21:27

COACH OF THE YEAR

And the nominees are...

- Derek Adams

- Karen Dent

- Kieran Hallett

- Lee Hobbs

- Pete Barrett

- Pete Bruce

21:24

The winner is...

JOHN WOLLINGTON

Ensuring that a sport runs smoothly is far from an easy job, not that you would know that from how easy John Wollington makes it look.

It isn’t just one sport that benefits from John’s hard work and dedication, he spends his time across many fields which makes a world of difference to hundreds of people across the city.

In one of his nominations, John was described as an ‘unsung hero’, something that would be echoed by all that know him.

John is involved with Plympton Grammar School Old Boys hockey club and is an administrator and umpire for the sport. He is also the chairman of Mount Gould bowls club, the honorary secretary/treasurer of Old Suttonians cricket club and he is also team manager for the Plymouth Transplant Games team.

John had a transplant in 2010 and even when his health hasn’t been at its best, he has continued to put other people and sport first and without him, many of these teams would struggle to function.